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BBIlC ill illffl ft BwilW 1 1 i I1 " v 1 1 in MR. DERBY GREETS MR. DERBY— Bill Corum left, president of Churchill Downs I where the 81st running, of the nations top turf classic will be run and Eddie 1 Arcaro, winner of five Derbys and who Will be astride todays favorite. Demy "Hfcis Big Responsibility: Corum Must Portray Racing at Its Finest to American Public Churchill President Believes Classic Is Living Up to That Ideal; Directing Sixth Derby By OSCAR OTIS CHURCHILL DOWNS, Louisville, Ky., May 6.— "We of Churchill Downs realize that the Kentucky Derby has a responsibility to all American racing," says President Bill Corum, "and I believe we have made steady progress toward living up to that responsibility of presenting a horse race that portrays racing, at its finest to the American public." This will be Corums sixth Derby as president of Churchill Downs, and he spends a considerable amount of time throughout the year, as well as much thought, toward promoting the Derby into an event that each year will even more clearly reflect and portray to non-racing people the coldr, excitement, and wholesome aspects of the thoroughbred sport. He feels that in many ways, the Derby is a sort of a "showcase" of the whole turf industry. While every possible attention is showered upon the casual Derby Day visitor, of whom there are tens of thousands, it is ! always a source of pleasure to Corum and his associates when senators, representatives, cabinet members, governors, and others high in government life are per— sonaliy present for a Derby running. President Truman Had Planned to Attend "We have always felt rather "gratified -that former President Harry Truman had tentatively accepted an invitation to be present during his term of office, but the, planned appearance had to be cancelled because of the steel strike," says Corum. "Alben W. Barkley, one of our senators froin Kentucky, has been a Kentucky Derby fan for years, and Gov. Lawrence W. Weatherby had 14 other governors as his guests one year. Defense Secretary Charles Wilson has been a guest of Bill Veeneman, and of course, the secretary of the treasury, George Humphrey, has been here. "And on the theory that names make news, we are gratified that each year, more and more motion picture and television stars from Hollywood and New York are •* finding the Derby worth while entertainment. Last year, I believe there were more film luminaries in our boxes than ever.- "Last year, Sir Roger Makin, the British ► _ ambassador, was invited to the Derby, and after the race attended our Derby party to toast the winner. He seemed to enjoy himself a lot. "We do think the appearance, in great .numbers, of these leading citizens from whatever field of endeavor they may be in, is good for racing because their very presence is itself a stamp of approval. Whether or not American racing ever reaches the point it has in England, where it has the patronage of the head of the empire, Her Majesty, the Queen, is another question but I" think we have made and will continue to make progress along the lines of universal acceptance o our sport for what it is and what it stands for." Succeeded Winn in Post Corum is many things to many people at Churchill Downs. To the hundreds of sports writers covering the Derby each year, the man is a working member of the fraternity who has met the challenge of the Derby and met it extremely well. It has been said that the Derby flourished on press and public relations, hence it was not surprising that when it came the time to elect a successor to the late Matt J. Whin, the choice of Corum was unanimous. When Corum f irst took over, he made a major decision. That was to preserve and enrich the many traditions which grew up under Colonel Winn, but while clinging to all that was worthwhile, not to rest upon the laurels of the past but~to continue to Continued on Page Twenty-One Derby Has Responsibility To All American Racing Cor urn Says Event Must Portray Sport at Best to American Fans Continued trim Fmge Six build and keep the Derby as modern as imorrow. As a "living memorial" to Colonel Winn, the old "21 club" was converted into the Matt J. Winn room, and into this room on Derby day step many of the greatest living men of our era into an atmosphere as "traditional as tradition" can be. Here are the trophies and relics of the past glories and triumphs, all subordinate to an oil painting of the Colonel himself. The first major tradition inaugurated by Corum as president was to locate an unbroken set of julep cups, engraved with the name of every Derby winner since Aris-tides, and put them on display in the Winn room. It was decreed that only the owner of a Derby winner may drink from these cups with one exception, and that is after a race, the winning owner has the perogative of toasting the horse with his friends from* this priceless because it is irreplaceable silverware. Corum parcels out his time at Churchill quite carefully but nevertheless all em-bracive. One minute he may be talking with a very important personage a bit later is over on the backstretch talking to grooms arid-exercise boys to see that they are happy on the backstretch, and a bit later still may be in the press box to see how his friends there are getting along. One of his first acts as president was to build a new kitchen in the stable area so that all hands over there could have their early coffee and breakfasts in more comfort. And from time to time, he tours the plant, talking to patrons, to get THEIR point of view and maybe an idea as to how Churchill could be improved in the way of comfort and convenience. Corum was an honor student in school, and a baseball player of some merit. Some of his friends tell us he might have carved out a career in big league baseball had he so desired. When the first World War came, he enlisted in the Army as a buck private, and rose through the ranks to be discharged as a major. After the armistice, he enrolled in the Columbia School of Journalism, and upon graduation was hired by the New .York Times. There, he gravitated to his natural field, sports writing, and his articles were so vivid they came to the attention of Arthur Brisbane who suggested to William Randolph Hearst that the man be hired. He was, and was launched by Hearst as a columnist. It was natural that as part of his "beat" he should cover the Derby, and his first Derby was the year of Zer. It was Corum as a sports writer who came up with the tag "Run for the Roses," a description which has stuck. During his Derby coverage days, he became a close friend of Colonel Winn, and learned the Colonels thinking, planning, and philosophy toward the race, the turf industry, and the public. Corum accepted the post of president of Churchill Downs on a "part time" basis, but that is not an accurate way of putting it. Rather, he spends about three months a year devoting all his time to the Derby, the rest of the twelve-month period he writes his syndicated column and at the same time keeps constantly in touch with all Derby problems,. He is not saddled with the details of the Derby operation, but he is responsible .ior the broad promotional aspects and policies tf each Kentucky Deri*. * »•-•- - *• • -
